CONSISTENCY PAYS OFF AS SHEPHERD TAKES ROUND 4

On a weekend that saw Formula First alumni, Nick Cassidy, take over the Toyota Racing Series championship lead – it was fitting to see the Weldwell NZ Formula First Championship steal the show at Ricoh Taupo Motorsport Park.

After dominating the third round of the championship at Manfeild Park, Rowan Shepherd had closed in on leader Ryan Heller to trail by 68 points going into Taupo. The fourth round also saw the debut of last year’s championship winning machine in the hands of Auckland’s Taylor Cockerton. Cockerton, who signed with last year’s championship winning squad - Scorpion Racecars, had never turned a wheel in his new machine before Friday practise so to go within hundredths of the lap record was an ominous sign for his fellow competitors.

Saturday morning’s qualifying session would confirm the rumours from Friday testing, as the Safety Step Scorpion Racecars machine of Taylor Cockerton would leave the field behind – blowing out the cobwebs with an almost one second advantage over the Go Rentals/MSR Challenge of Rowan Shepherd. Third place would go to the impeccable 46 machine of David Ruthven, managing to gain a quicker lap time than championship leader Ryan Hellier who would be starting fourth for race one.

Cory Holmes would find the pace that was lost at round three, claiming the fifth spot, with Oliver Gordon starting next to the son of the rallying legend. Sabre Motorsport would lock out the fourth row of the grid, with Tim Fox outpacing Scholarship winner Aaron Marr by under one hundredth of a second. The top ten would be shut out by two legends of the class, Craig Greenwood and the driver of Black Sunshine – Dave Scammell.

Race one

The moment the lights went out for the inaugural Weldwell NZ Formula First race of the weekend, drama ensued. Polesitter Taylor Cockerton barely got out of second gear before a transmission drama would make him a sitting duck in the middle of the circuit. Luckily for Taylor and the Safety Step Scorpion Racecars team, the field was aware enough to miss the idle machine. The driver to take advantage of the incident was Bramwell King. King, now a master of adapting to different racecars during race weekends, blasted from last place up to eleventh in one lap.

The Daytona Indoor Raceway 17 Alvee would be seen dominating his fellow drivers, fighting all the way up to sixth place by the end of the race, setting the quickest lap along the way.

Meanwhile up front, it was all Go Rentals/Michael Shepherd Racing’s Rowan Shepherd. Shepherd blitzed the field during the first few laps to gain the gap he needed and then maintained enough pace to hold on until the end, taking his fourth victory in a row. Championship leader Ryan Hellier would minimise the damage by running in second, with Oliver Gordon holding out David Ruthven for third. Fifth place would go to Sabre Motorsport’s Tim Fox, who showed great pace throughout. The aforementioned sixth place finishing Bramwell King would be followed home by the Holmes Flooring/All Subaru Partsworld Scorpion Racecars-Challenge of Cory Holmes. The two Scholarship winners would be separated by Craig Greenwood, with Sabre Motorsport’s Aaron Marr in eighth and thirteen year old Jacob Smith claiming another top ten finish in the now matte black New Zealand Racer Magazine Machine.

The first race of the weekend would be the last for the 33 machine of Dave Scammell. An engine failure would put an end to the weekend for the Feilding local, thus losing critical points to his fellow championship rivals, both young and old.

Race two

Sunday’s race would be one to go down in the record books for Auckland driver Taylor Cockerton. After the team repaired the transmission fault overnight, the Safety Step Scorpionracecars machine made it past it’s previous PB of two metres and kept at pace with the leading pack during the initial laps. Though it was Tim Fox who would lead the first lap - the trio of Hellier, Shepherd and Cockerton wouldn’t be far behind.

A short safety car period for an incident involving Jacob Smith and Craig Greenwood reset the field, giving everyone another opportunity to bring the fight to the leaders. From the moment the lights went green Taylor Cockerton, fifth at the time, began his fight back to the top. Despite the 3NZ’s best efforts to gain enough advantage to make a final lap drafting duel impossible, Cockerton would chase Shepherd down lap by lap – setting a new lap record along the way.

Coming down the back straight for the final time, Cockerton would go side by side with the Go Rentals/MSR machine in an out braking duel, a duel that would go to Cockerton this time round – sealing the Aucklanders inaugural victory in his Formula First career. Shepherd would take second, with Ryan Hellier making it from a seventh starting spot to claim third overall.

The battle for fourth was one that would end up with a bit of carnage out of the final turn. Waiuku’s Cory Holmes looked to have it sealed when a sudden barrage of action occurred. In the end Holmes would end up hitting the outskirts of the track to avoid a collision, but would finish seventh. Tim Fox would be the ultimate opportunist, taking the fourth position, with David Ruthven and Bramwell King following behind. Oliver Gordon would be the last one to leave, ending up in tenth spot after it all.

Race three

In the exact opposite of race two, it was Taylor Cockerton who would dominate the majority of the final race of Weldwell New Zealand Formula First action, as the fifteen year old would drive away from the field.

But, like race two, it’s not over until the chequered flag – as a determined Rowan Shepherd would not settle for second place, cutting down the gap over the final laps of the race. Then on the final lap, a small error from Taylor kept the door of opportunity ajar for Shepherd and he would bust it open, setting up the second epic late braking showdown during the final turns. It would be the Go Rentals 3NZ of Rowan Shepherd who would appear in the lead, taking his record to five wins from six in the last two rounds. The Safety Step 11 of Taylor Cockerton would take second.

Third place would go to the Ardex/All Subaru Partsworld/BNT/Holmes Flooring 9 Scorpion Racecars-challenge of Cory Holmes. Holmes, taking his first podium in the dry weather, held out the four-way threat of Tim Fox, Bramwell King, Oliver Gordon and Ryan Hellier to claim it and crucial championship points. The aforementioned Hellier saw his points lead cut to 20 going into Hampton Downs after an uncharacteristic seventh place

finish.

With one weekend out of the way in the back to back to back month of Formula First action, the teams now head to Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. Auckland’s Ryan Hellier heads to the circuit with a 20 point advantage over Palmerston North’s Rowan Shepherd in what can now be called the duel for the title.

Will the undulations and cambered corners suit the Go Rentals/MSR machine and cut that advantage even more? Or will the Saftey Step machine of Taylor Cockerton continue to spoil the leaders’ party.

Come and find out. Hampton Downs Motorsport Park – February 2-3.